Differences between Islam and Christianity - Difference 3

This is a bit pithy, but true nonetheless. In Islam, the only way one can have absolute assurance of salvation is to become a shahid, or martyr in an act of jihad. Martyrs bypass immediately the day of judgment and enter paradise. Sura 3:169-171 states, "And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, they are alive and are provided sustenance from their Lord, rejoicing in what God has given to them out of His grace ..."

In Christianity one achieves salvation only through the shed blood of Jesus, given for the remission of our sin. From the beginning of time, God has required the shedding of blood of an innocent animal to atone for the sins of the people. The sacrificial system established in the Old Testament was symbolic and forward looking to the time when God would provide the ultimate sacrifice, paid by Jesus himself, whom John the Baptist identified as the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). We don't need to shed our own blood; it is of no use.

Only the blood of Jesus, the perfect and sinless man, can be offered as a substitute for our own blood. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of His grace." (Ephesians 1:7)